Miami Opts to Play Maryland

After the tragic death of Miami defensive end, Bryan Pata, Miami will opt to play against Maryland. As Coach Larry Coker said, "[The team] felt like Bryan would want to play."

Maryland can no longer expect to meet the crappy Miami that's walked on the field all year. They should expect the Miami that had been ranked for years before. There's no doubt in my mind that Miami will come and play that game for Bryan Pata and play hard -- the hardest they've played all year. They will leave everything on the field, and Maryland needs to be ready for that.

I think Maryland is a tough position this week. The entire story is Miami and Maryland is the bad guy team they have to overcome to honor their lost friend. Besides Maryland fans, I think every will be behind Miami in this game. The Maryland players will have to realize that this is still an important game for them. It wouldn't benefit them at all if they came out not playing 100% because of the situation. I doubt Miami would want Maryland at anything besides 100%. Maryland's season is highly dependent on this game, and if they don't play their hardest, they'll regret it years down the line. If they lose to Miami while playing 100%, that's something that you can get over.

As for the news on the Hurricanes, you should probably be reading the Miami FanHouse.

No matter who wins or loses this game, it can be assured that this game will have a different feel. I bet you that even the Terps fans will sound a bit different. This is a tragedy, but the game will go on. Let's hope for both sides' sake, it's a good one.